This is some great writing and interviewing! As an early devoted Momo and Japan Blue fan, I came to appreciate their quiet devotion to modern, understated, well-made jeans free from any of the eye-catching experimentation of, say, Samurai (though def respect ✊).
My primary denim complaint over the years has been the very slow awakening of many of the 501-devoted old-school Osaka Five to the Western market demands for modern cuts like the 0306 tapered fit. I think many of us older denimheads have closets full of fits that we did our best to love on, but just couldn’t pull off. I know my own trial and error process with Momotaro (and every other Japanese brand out there) caused me to sell dozens of pairs (excluding those I sold because I got fatter)...
When Japan Blue was launched in ‘10, I watched Momotaro be one of the first Japanese brands to try innovating the Japanese denim market with new western cuts. Almost everyone followed suit in the next few years, even true old-school devotees like Pure Blue Japan and SD’A. Since slim taper cuts are the best for me this has been a goldmine of returning to previously avoided brands just because fits previously didn’t work for me.
I like that your interviews really reveal this hard work that Momotaro invested in western market research. Thanks for contributing that!